Particle Physics
Lasers made muon beams, no massive accelerator needed
The advance hints at the possibility of portable muon-making devices that could help peer through solid materials for hidden contraband.
Physics
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
More Stories in Physics
- Physics
Here’s what might spark ghostly will-o’-the-wisps
Chemists have discovered tiny zaps of electricity moving between “swamp-gas” bubbles. Could they ignite methane gas to glow as dancing blue flames?
- Physics
Ice is more flexible than you think, a new nano-movie shows
Scientists have filmed nanoscale ice crystals adapting to trapped air bubbles without losing structural integrity.
- Particle Physics
A primordial black hole may have spewed the highest energy neutrino ever found
The Big Bang may have spawned these theoretical black holes, whose lives are thought to end in a burst of extremely energetic particles.
- Chemistry
A new book explores the link between film giant Kodak and the atomic bomb
In Tales of Militant Chemistry, Alice Lovejoy traces how film giants Kodak and Agfa helped produce weapons of war during the 20th century.
- Materials Science
Salt can turn frozen water into a weak power source
Experiments reveal that when slabs of salty ice are strained, electricity is generated, though practical uses are still a long way off.
- Physics
Scientists made a biological quantum bit out of a fluorescent protein
Researchers could use quantum effects to develop new types of medical imaging inside cells themselves.
- Physics
A ‘ringing’ black hole matches scientists’ predictions
Gravitational waves emitted after two black holes coalesced agree with theories from physicists Stephen Hawking and Roy Kerr.
- Particle Physics
This laser would shoot beams of neutrinos, not light
The subatomic particles called neutrinos are famously elusive. But an unconventional trick could make a laser beam of the aloof particles.
- Animals
Frilly bug feet inspire a water-striding robot
Ripple bugs’ nimble movements on the surface of water inspired a robot with automatically unfurling fans on its feet.
